3.1

definitely annoying
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
44,094 miles

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problem #7

Mar 182012

Freestar

  • 74,000 miles
Driving approximately 65 mph on a two hour trip and experienced a sudden but brief loss of acceleration, speed immediately dropped by 15 mph, which was accompanied by a severe jerk. The occurred two more times during the trip at high speeds and subsequently continued to occur the following days during normal neighborhood driving conditions (20 ? 40 mph). I have taken the car to a Ford dealer to be checked out as I thought this could be related to the recently announced torque converter output shaft recall (recall campaign number: 11S25). The dealer has diagnosed the problem to be related to water intrusion into the PCM housing. Unfortunately this appears to be common problem with the Ford Freestar.

- Rose Valley, PA, USA

problem #6

Mar 142012

Freestar 6-cyl

  • 72,656 miles
I started my van and tried to back out of my parking spot and it would not go anywhere. I turned off the engine, sat for about 5 min and then tried again. This time it backed up, I was able to pull up to the street and when I went to pull out, it sputtered and stalled. I had it towed to a transmission place and they said that it wasn't the transmission, it was the PCM. I had it towed to the dealership and told them it was the PCM. They insisted on running a diagnostic because it couldn't be the PCM, they have never seen that before. They found out it was the PCM and now I have to pay for a diagnostic that wasn't necessary. I have to pay for a design flaw that caused the problem to be fixed and pay to have the PCM replaced. The transmission shop that diagnosed the problem did not charge me anything for his work. My extended warranty company is paying half of the repair even though it isn't a covered repair and yet Ford will not waive or cover any of the problem that is their design flaw. Why are customers not informed of tsb's that could have prevented the problem" I am very lucky this happened in the parking lot instead of on the highway. This problem could have been fixed with a tube of silicone. Why was the tsb not completed before the vehicle was sold to me as a used vehicle in May 2011? is there a recall to fix this problem in the works? is there a class action lawsuit I can join? is there anything being done to fix this problem before someone dies"

- Toledo, OH, USA

problem #5

Feb 012012

Freestar 6-cyl

  • 80,005 miles
Wife was driving home from work when the van just suddenly stalled. She was traveling at 35 mph when she lost all power. She then tried restarting the van and it started but when she tried to put it into gear the engine RPM's raced, then slammed into gear and then stalling again. The van was undriveable. She was able to get to the side of the road just feet before she would have been stranded on a narrow two lane bridge that is heavily traveled the logging and dump trucks. Had it towed to the repair shop for repairs. While doing research online about the issue I was surprised to find so many other have had the same issue possibly caused by water in the PCM module. The next morning I contacted the repair shop and advised them of my findings. Sure enough they where able to find the service bulletins from Ford about the issue 7 pages long. Several hours and $240 later the repair shop called and said the van was fixed and the could not believe the amount of water that came our when the sensor was removed. I cannot believe that Ford has not submitted a recall on this issue.

- Granite Falls, WA, USA

problem #4

Sep 152011

Freestar

  • miles
Moisture damage to powertrain control module (computer system). Vehicle would not idle, transmission would not shift, and erratic electronics resulting in multiple warning lights to go on and off. Fortunately, I was in a parking lot, however, this could have resulted in catastrophic failure if I was driving on an interstate. Repair shop stated that they have seen this same problem. I have to have a new computer installed and the vehicle is only 6 years old.

- Fairview Park, OH, USA

problem #3

Mar 282011

Freestar 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles
2005 Ford Freestar. Consumer writes in regards to a complaint to Ford Motor Company for a refund for repairs due to a faulty design the consumer stated moisture was seeping into the computer. The PCM wire harness had to be reflashed/reprogrammed.

- Jersey City, NJ, USA

problem #2

Mar 212008

Freestar 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 50,000 miles
I have had problems with my Ford free star 2005 van it has 50,600 miles on it. It all started when the speedometer and odometer stopped working at highway speeds. Then a few seconds latter the van just died while driving with my two year old twins in the car. I was able to start it up again and it started to sputter and stall again. I am a mechanic and I was going to attempt to repair the vehicle myself until I went on line and found out that other people have been complaining about the PCM getting wet and I found out mine was wet and corroded. The PCM was getting wet by water getting through the crowl gasket. I also found out that there was a tsb out on this directing dealers how to repair this problem at cost to the customer. The PCM was replaced now the vehicle shifts funny and goes in and out of gear and I was told I have transmission damage now. I called Ford customer service and they basically told me oh well, not our problem. But how is this my problem for a vehicle I did not design. Water should not be able to get to the PCM. Now my vehicle sits at a dealer and the dealer said that all plug in connectors to sensors. And vital computer components are wet an corroded. But if funny how there is a tsb out on this problem and Ford is doing nothing to help the customer.

- Rosendale, NY, USA

problem #1

Mar 102008

Freestar 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 32,000 miles
2005 Ford Freestar just dies. First incident happened February 28, 2008. Was stopped at a stop sign and made it about halfway through intersection when everything shut off. Coasted to the other side and pulled to the right. Restarted the van and made it another 50 feet before it died again. Tried a third time and it would not go into any gear. Luckily was in a residential neighborhood. Called tow truck and local Ford dealership (mckie Ford, rapid city, sd). Service technician said the transmission needed to be replaced, parts would be in sometime on Monday (3/3/2008). They completed the repair on Tuesday afternoon. Today (3/10/2008), the same exact issue occurred. Called tow and local Ford dealer. Waiting to hear what Ford has to say this time. Doing some research on the web, there are hundreds of people with Freestars that have had to same issue. Each has a similar story of having to replace the transmission (usually at their cost). Many of whom are looking at having a class action lawsuit created against Ford for a known defect that has gone unresolved (to the point where they outright lie about knowing the parts are faulty). I know I'm not the first to complain here, and I know I will not be the last.

- Rapid City, SD, USA